Session Date/Time: 24 Jul 2025 07:30

irtfopen

Summary

The IRTF Open meeting at IETF in Madrid covered various topics, including updates from research groups, discussions on new research areas (space communication and networking challenges), the Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP) awards and talks, and an invited talk on the interdependency of power systems and ICT. The ANRP winners presented their research on internet access inequity (Harika Amanda) and Starlink performance measurements (Hendrik Zech). The invited talk by Hermann de Meier focused on the challenges and interdependencies between power systems and ICT infrastructure.

Key Discussion Points

IRTF Research Group Updates: All 15 IRTF research groups met during the week.
New Research Areas: Discussions are ongoing regarding systems research for space communication and networking challenges.
Diversity Grant Scheme: Reminder of the upcoming deadline (August 1st) for the diversity travel grant scheme.
ANRP Award Talks:
- Harika Amanda (UC Santa Barbara): Presented research on the effectiveness of the Connect America Fund (CAF) in addressing U.S. internet access inequities, highlighting discrepancies between ISP self-reported data and actual service availability and performance. Discussion included policy implications, methods for assessing compliance, and the impact of competition on broadband speeds.
- Hendrik Zech (Technical University of Munich): Presented research on Starlink performance measurements, focusing on global variations in latency and throughput, the impact of ground station infrastructure, and observations on network reconfigurations. Discussion included the use of inter-satellite links, the potential for congestion, and comparisons with terrestrial internet services.
Invited Talk (Hermann de Meier): Presented on the mutual dependency of power systems and ICT, emphasizing the challenges introduced by the renewable energy transition, including decreased system dependability, the need for flexibility resources, and the potential for cascading failures. A key takeaway was the need to balance supply and demand at all times and to negotiate standard profiles with grid operators.

Decisions and Action Items

Continued Discussion on Networking Challenges: The topic of inter-networking challenges for the IRTF requires further discussion, possibly at an upcoming IETF meeting.
Sign-up to Mailing List: Those interested in the topic of networking challenges should sign up for the mailing list.
Standardization of Web Scraping Framework: Discussion around standardizing web scraping frameworks to better measure ISP performance and hold them accountable.
Investigate Heterogeneity in Broadband Access: Further investigation into the correlation between broadband access and the existence or level of activity of community or education groups.
Evaluate the Effect of Current Drafts: Evaluate if existing drafts are making the situation worse by extending the life of existing capital expenditure on copper and delay new infrastructure.

Next Steps

Attend Side Meeting: Attend the side meeting on systems research for space communication.
ACM Connects Workshop: Participate in the workshop on inter-networking challenges at ACM Conext in December.
Expand BQT Tool: Continue efforts to expand the BQT tool to include more ISPs and partner with state and local government organizations.
Investigate Internet Performance: Further research into internet performance and measurement tools to assess end-user experience.
SustainerG Meeting: Attend the SustainerG meeting for further discussion on the topics discussed in the invited talk.